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Sereff v. Steedle8/11/2005
JUDGMENT AFFIRMED IN PART, REVERSED IN PART, AND CASE REMANDED WITH DIRECTIONS
Marquez and Graham, JJ., concur
Plaintiffs, Bradley Scott Sereff, individually and as personal representative of the estate of Jennifer Sereff; Elliot Sereff; and Skylar Sereff, appeal the trial court's judgment dismissing their case against defendants, David W. Steedle, M.D.; Neil Waldman, M.D.; the City and County of Denver; and Denver General Hospital (DGH). We affirm in part, reverse in part, and remand with directions.
This medical malpractice action arises from the death of Jennifer Sereff, the wife of Bradley Scott Sereff, and mother of Elliot Sereff and Skylar Sereff. The relevant underlying facts are set forth in a prior interlocutory appeal brought by Waldman and Steedle challenging the trial court's 1998 ruling that it had subject matter jurisdiction under the Colorado Governmental Immunity Act (GIA), § 24-10-101, et seq., C.R.S. 2004, to hear the action against them. See Sereff v. Waldman, 30 P.3d 754 (Colo. App. 2000).
In Sereff, a division of this court held that the operation of a residency program out of DGH, in which Waldman was enrolled and Steedle acted as his supervisor, constituted the operation of a public hospital for purposes of waiving defendants' immunity under the GIA. The division also held that the location of the alleged malpractice, at a private hospital rather than at DGH, did not preclude a determination that the treatment provided to the deceased constituted part of the operation of a public hospital. Finally, the division rejected Waldman's contention that because the practice of medicine and the operation of a public hospital are separate and distinct from one another and require separate licenses, the operation of a public hospital for purposes of § 24-10-106(1)(f), C.R.S. 2004, does not include the practice of medicine. In concluding that the actions of Waldman and Steedle fell within the operation of a public hospital, and that their immunity had been waived under the GIA, the division did not address plaintiffs' contention that the trial court's order as to Steedle could be affirmed on the basis that he was not a public employee for purposes of the GIA.
Plaintiffs had also filed a motion requesting the trial court to declare the GIA unconstitutional. In 1999, the court denied that motion.
After jurisdiction over the action was returned to the trial court from the interlocutory appeal, defendants moved for leave to deposit $150,000 in the registry of the court. They argued that under § 24-10-114(1)(a), C.R.S. 2004, $150,000 constituted the maximum possible amount recoverable by plaintiffs from all defendants. The offer provided that if "any Appellate Court reverses this Court's determination that Dr. Steedle is a public employee, then Dr. Steedle, and these public Defendants hereby reserve the right to withdraw this deposit and reserve the right to proceed to trial on issues of liability, causation and damages." Defendants also moved for summary judgment on the issue of the maximum amount recoverable under § 24-10-114(1)(a).
The trial court initially denied defendants' motion, finding that each wrongful death claimant sustains his or her own independent injuries for purposes of applying the damage limitations under the GIA. However, upon defendants' motion to reconsider, the trial court addressed the motion as a request for determination of a question of law under C.R.C.P. 56(h), reversed itself, and concluded that $150,000 was the maximum plaintiffs were collectively entitled to recover from defendants. The court then allowed defendants to deposit the $150,000 into the registry of the court. Thereafter, the
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